Lost in the Mist
by Necessarily.Evil
Summary: "This is Kiri and you are a ninja. There are no heroes and there are no adventures. There is only the mission and death." Semi-SI


Lost in the Mist Chapter 1

From the moment you take your last breath everyone wonders what happens next. However, religious or not, no one expects to find themselves being born again. And yet I couldn't help but feel intimidated by the brightness that blinded me after opening my eyes again. The blurry shapes that vaguely resembled people, the noises that sounded similar to an Asian language, the feeling of being lifted too high into the air... It was frightening enough to cause a newborn to cry.

Even if I didn't know what was going on I became calm after being settled down in what felt like someone's arms, if the five appendages touching me were any indication. Somehow I ended up falling into a peaceful sleep from resting in this person's arms.

* * *

Six months went by, my only measure of time being the distant sun or moon and my times to be fed, and although I spent most of the day sleeping a few things became apparent during that time. I was able to learn my name was Tatsuya though I had no idea what my last name was. I was also able to determine what language the people around me were speaking, I was correct about it being an Asian language but after hearing 'Itadakimasu' enough times it was obvious these people were speaking Japanese. My location took some time to determine. There were some technological advancements such as electricity, stoves, running water, etc. But I had yet to see a car or road the times I had been outside of my home. Wherever I was there seemed to be a permanent light fog blanketing the area at all times. The architecture also had many tall cylindrical buildings, some with plants growing on the roof. It was only when my father, who I learned I should call Tou-san, appeared one day with a headband on that had a metal covering the front and etched in the metal were four squiggly lines, that I realized where I was. Tou-san was wearing a hitai-ate, the kind Kirigakure shinobi wore in the Naruto anime and manga.

I almost had a panic attack just from that realization but fear took it's place when I realized I wasn't lucky enough to be born in Konoha but rather Kiri and quite possibly during the 'Bloody Mist' era. I tried to convince myself he was just a cosplayer but that wouldn't explain this place's weird technical advancements or why Kaa-san had seemingly natural blue hair. It certainly wouldn't explain the energy I could feel inside of myself for the past few months. I all could think about however was my will to live. I was born sick in my past life and my childhood was filled with hospital visits until I died when I was 15, so I damn sure wasn't going to die young this time around.

From then on I had been practicing internal use of my chakra while also learning to read, write, and walk again. By the time my second birthday came around I was good at moving my chakra from one place to another inside my body. I was also able to recognize many different kanji and write some basic sentences. My language skills were impressive for a child my age as well. My second birthday was also when Kaa-san and Tou-san gave me a few toys that I suspect were meant to improve memory. I played with them whenever I was significantly bored.

When I turned three I was fluent in Japanese and my reading and kanji had greatly improved. Tou-san also thought my body was developed enough to start showing me another 'game' that was basically a way to disguise conditioning my body for the high athleticism required of ninjas. It was mostly long distance running with stretches before and after. Sometime after my third birthday, Yagura became Mizukage. As a three year old I didn't hear much about the village's politics but I often listened to my parents when they thought I was playing with my 'toys'.

"The academy graduation exam has changed. The state of the village has just been declining lately." Kaa-san's worried voice carried from the kitchen into the family room where I was on the floor pretending to play with my memorization toys. Tou-san sat on the chair going over his mission report he would turn in tomorrow. _Since Yagura became Mizukage_ went unsaid but Tou-san got the message.

"All ninja will have to kill eventually even if it is required earlier than expected." Tou-san said while not looking up from his report. _Things are changing but we are still Kiri shinobi._

"Yes but this isn't just the academy, the civilians are treated as second class citizens and our own ninja become more ruthless each day." _These changes won't do this country good. Even our own ninja are becoming disloyal._

"What is your point?" _What are you suggesting._

"I'm just worried about Tatsuya." Kaa-san exited the kitchen after finishing the dishes and sat beside Tou-san while observing me. _I'm worried about the future._

"He will be alright." _Things won't fall into disarray so easily._

Finding the double meaning behind their words was easy after being raised by them for years. It was also easy to recognize when their conversations ended so I took the cue.

"Kaa-san I'm going to my room now." I told her while picking up my toy to put back into my organized room. She just nodded, realizing far earlier that I was a rather independent and quiet child.

I was going to practice the leaf exercise. I was already able to stick 5 leaves on various places on my body at the same time but that was were my multitasking skills with chakra ended. While I was doing that I started practicing doing my hand signs faster like Kaa-san showed me. Even if I don't know any jutsu this exercise will help me when I eventually learn some. And that would be one extra step towards survival. Plus, all that time to myself gave me an agenda of my own. If I would be here for a while I may as well have fun doing it.

* * *

Today was the day I joined the academy at age five. My training so far hadn't been strenuous, so I don't expect there to be a large power gap between me and the other students. I could very possibly be behind the other students as well. I'm completely confident in my abilities with chakra control but I haven't had any practice with taijutsu specifically. However, I had learned how to correctly move, jump, and travel in this terrain. Hi no Kuni had massive forests, Tsuchi no Kuni had mountains and caves, but in Mizu no Kuni where there could be nothing but open water for miles swimming and learning how to properly hide yourself underwater was important. The land had trees, not as large as in Hi no Kuni, a thick underbrush, and a permanent mist on all of its islands.

I also study the geography of the elemental nations because I find it interesting and it's important to know as a ninja. The size of the continent that four of the five largest hidden villages were located on is much larger than shown in the anime. There were numerous countries west of Kaze no Kuni and some had shinobi villages, yet none were as remarkable as the original five. There was another, much smaller continent east of Mizu no Kuni that also had a few shinobi villages. Of the five largest countries Kaze no Kuni was the largest followed by Tsuchi no Kuni. Hi no Kuni and Kaminari no Kuni are similar in size with Mizu no Kuni being the smallest. Mizu no Kuni consisted of one large island where Kiri resided, and several smaller surrounding islands. I expect that there will eventually be plans to expand into Nami no Kuni and some of the other islands closer to the coast.

Even knowing all of this I don't expect anything to give me a significant head start against the civilian raised kids. Clan kids and those with ninja for parents may have had harsher training. My family, the Mizushima family, had a long history of being shinobi but there were never the numbers to register ourselves as a clan.

"Tatsuya!" Tou-san's stern voice interrupted me from my thoughts, getting me to focus on finishing getting ready. He hated being late.

I rushed to put on the clothes that I found worked best for me while training. The outfit consisted of a grey short sleeve shirt, a pair of striped blue pants that was unsurprisingly popular among Kiri ninja, a pair of black sandals that all shinobi wore, and finally bandages around my lower leg to keep the ends of my pants down. My wild dark blue hair was rather long so it was in a pony tail that reached a little past the base of my neck, I also have a bang that managed to cover my left eye no matter what I attempted. I was still mildly surprised whenever I looked in the mirror and saw my blue hair and eyes. I inherited them from Kaa-san but I got Tou-san's serious facial features.

When I exited my room Tou-san was already near the door and he stepped outside and began making his way to the Academy while I followed. We spent the walk in silence, neither of us being particularly talkative people. When we reached the Academy and entered the large cylindrical building, we had to wait a few minutes as paperwork was checked to confirm my registration. A woman then led us to a large door where the students would be sorted into their classes. After she left Tou-san put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a serious look.

"Tatsuya in this world we fight for our home but we die for what we believe in. I'm afraid that sometime in your life those two things won't always be the same. So only die for what you believe in. Do you understand?" He was worried, I could tell. Even if he was a ninja he was still a father and he wanted to ensure my safety when he couldn't be there to protect me.

"Yes Tou-san." He gave a rare smile at my answer but I could tell he didn't think I understood.

"Good, now hurry up before you are late. I expect you to be first in your class." And with that he disappeared leaving behind a small amount of mist that quickly dispersed.

I gave a small smile at his comment because Tou-san was a hard worker and expected the same out of me. Even though he may not have been my family in my first life, I don't think I could've gotten better parents in this one.

I walked up to the doors and slowly pushed them open. I stepped into a room that resembled an extremely large dojo. There were about thirty students in here already but I was early and the maximum amount of new students the academy can accept is around three-hundred. Even if exact numbers were classified, the Five Great Shinobi Villages were estimated to have around twelve-thousand ninja on active duty. During peacetime that number is maintained by the influx of rookies from the Academy. During war some of the curriculum is dropped while the actual training is intensified to create a larger number of ninja to make up for the dropping population. Even when there was no war students of the Academy could try to take the graduation exam early if they had been in the Academy at least four years.

I plan on eventually trying to take the graduation exam early, but until then I need to figure out what time period I'm in. I've had no indication except Yagura becoming Mizukage and although my memory was staring to fade on the uninteresting details, I knew that would be sometime before the start of the Third Shinobi War. I wasn't naive enough to believe I could defeat all the villains and solve this world's problems but what I could do was improve Kirigakure and keep certain people from becoming missing-nin. Mainly Zabuza and Kisame, keeping Utakata from leaving would also be best. But first I need to know my age in relation to other characters so that is why for the past thirty minutes I had chosen a comfortable spot in a corner to watch the door closely for any sign of someone recognizable.

The room quickly began crowded. From my count there's around two hundred and seventy students in the room currently. None of them were even close to recognizable. I gave up on watching the door after it seemed as if no one else would come in so I decided to people watch instead. Almost everyone else is in the center of the room so from my position in a far corner I had a good view of the others.

In my peripheral vision I could see a red headed girl standing not far from where I was. That by itself wasn't weird but what was weird was the fact she was staring at me too. There were a few other students who chose to stay close to the wall away from the large group but all of them were keeping to themselves by either sleeping, watching the others, or…muttering to themselves? Must be a Kaguya clan member. But the point was the girl was the only odd one so I turned to look at her directly.

We stood there at least a minute examining each other. Her red hair reached past her shoulder blades and her blue short sleeved kimono reached her knees with a tiny slit to help movement. Her obi was black and she also made geta look easy to walk in. I suspect she only wore that to make good impressions on the first day. Also probably some form of infiltration exercise too, learning to blend in with civilians was important for kunoichi.

We broke eye contact when students began being sorted into their classes. Eventually my name was called and I broke away from my spot to stand in a line facing a woman who I assumed to be our sensei.

However now that names were being called I tried to pay close attention to hear any familiar names. I almost gave up until I heard one name that caught my attention.

"Terumi Mei."

I quickly started looking for her, not frantically as I didn't want our sensei to take notice. The red haired girl who was previously staring at me made her way toward our class. Our eyes connected for a second as she walked past before moving on to the end of the line.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited because I met her, but the realistic part of me realized what is being the same age meant. I would have to fight in the war and in the rebellion. If I wanted to survive that, I would have to be the best.

* * *

Two weeks went by before I knew it. The time I spent in the Academy became routine. Our classes were held outside during half the day and inside during the other half. While inside we covered basic math, geometry, kanji, etcetera. We also were showed how to communicate silently by using a very simplified form of sign language that was meant for relaying basic information. Our sensei also showed us how to do hand signs. Some of the students who came from ninja families had already began practicing the some of the things we did in our inside courses. It seemed that Mei and I were the only students who had already fully learned basic education. Instead our sensei had us practicing the leaf exercise while still paying attention in class. That is the moment when our rivalry truly began. We both managed to stick the leaves on various parts of our body, even our feet. So we moved to the next stage, which was making the leaf hover above our hands without it blowing away. It was much like water walking because without enough chakra the leaf would fall to the palm of your hand. So it required constant attention to maintain the stream of chakra keeping the leaf afloat.

Mei and I both strived to be the best, successfully maintaining one leaf above our palms within a few days of practice. Both of us also made perfect scores on all tests. While our passive aggressive rivalry intensified, both of us were tying for top of the class.

Whenever we held class outside we became even more competitive. We never spoke to each other but we had an unspoken agreement of respect for each other. Personally I never spoke to anyone as I found them all to childish for me to socialize with. Mei however quickly became someone the students looked up to. She was kind, talented, pretty, and often helped the others when she could. She became a role model to them. I wonder if she knew that she would be required to kill one of them as the students weren't told, but Mei was different from most students.

Outside classes were more interesting. Learning to throw blunted, wooden objects that resembled shuriken and kunai was challenging but seeing Mei do well served as motivation to train harder. After the first week and daily practice with Kaa-san at home I could hit the target every time. Speed and evasion training was disguised as a game called Death-Tag that was similar to freeze tag but only with two medics to heal the 'wounded', and stealth training was an extreme form of hide and seek. I also signed myself up for kunoichi classes for the infiltration practice. The teacher was surprised to have a boy in the class but still expected the same from me as she did the girls.

After the school day was over I often find myself walking home alone like I was currently doing. Kaa-san would often be taking care of things at home as she had yet to return to active duty, while Tou-san was usually on a mission.

After leaving the Academy I took the more direct route through a few alleys and side streets to get home. A few minutes into my walk however I found myself face down on the ground after something, probably a child, ran into me.

Someone who could be no older than my age was quickly taking all the possessions I had on me. Their hands roaming into the pockets of my pants and my backpack. The child was also strong enough to hold me _a ninja in training_ down. I could feel the kid take my half eaten bento box out of my backpack. Then the bag was taken off my back and the child was gone. I immediately stood up and caught sight of a tall boy rounding a corner. I chased after him only to round the corner and see nothing but a dark narrow alleyway.

I looked up to see him scaling a building with my bag on his back. He was using the ledges to get to the edge of the roof before pulling himself over.

I began running towards the building preparing my chakra in my hands and knees like I had practiced a few times before. When I reached the building I started crawling up the side of the building, using my chakra to stick to it.

When I reached the top I started pulling myself over only to be tackled back to the ground. Now that I was closer to him I was able to see that the boy was probably my age. He had pale skin and black hair with dark brown eyes. He was tall for his age and his clothes weren't the right size, like they belonged to someone else who outgrew them or maybe they were just bought with the intention for him to grow in them.

I managed to break away from him in mid air and when I reached the ground I rolled with the fall as the building wasn't that high up. When I gained my bearings again and stood on my feet the boy was sitting and finishing my lunch while my backpack was beside him.

"You ninja?" The boys gruff voice surprised me and I almost thought there was another person the alley.

"I attend the Academy. Do you also go the Academy?"

"No. Dropout." The boy rasped out in between bites.

"Where did you learn to climb buildings then?" This kid truly was puzzling. He was strong enough to hold me down and able to climb the building without chakra. Yet the way he spoke implied of a second rate education. He was probably an orphan.

"Myself."

"Do you go to civilian school?"

"No I runaway. Boring."

"Then how will you learn to read?"

"Sensei."

After that I asked no more questions, preferring to wait until he was done eating. When he did finish he put the empty bento box back into my bag and threw it towards me. I caught it and slipped it on my back.

"Be here tomorrow. You help me become ninja. Bring food." He said already climbing the building once again.

"How do you expect to become a ninja without going to the Academy?" He stopped mid climb and turned around and gave me the most disturbing smile I have ever seen on a five year old.

"Graduation exam." He said with that crazy smile of his before pulling himself up over the edge.

If my memory wasn't so hazy I may have remembered why that two word sentence should have alarmed me. But it wouldn't remember until much later when it would be too late.

* * *

The next day after a fierce Death-Tag session against Mei, I made my way down the alley again. Once I reached were we spoke yesterday, I looked around to find the boy. I didn't see him at all. I then noticed something on the ground. It was a shadow that was rapidly becoming larger.

I jumped to the side to dodge the boy's aerial ambush. I was ready to defend myself only to be surprised by the kunai he was holding in his hand. He rushed at me slashing towards my neck forcing me to roll to the side. I recovered quickly and realized I would have to disarm him first before I could go on the offensive.

He rushed me again this time aiming for my torso. I ducked, baiting him. He took the bait and sent a kick towards my face. I blocked it with my forearms and grimaced at the pain, and then used that opportunity to grab his leg and throw him down the alley. I normally wouldn't be able to do that but chakra reinforcement, consciously or unconsciously, allowed ninja to preform superhuman feats.

My plan worked and he lost his grip on the kunai. That wouldn't have worked against a real ninja but since we were five and had barely any training with weapons I figured the chance of success was high enough.

He landed on his back and I was already headed in his direction. He was up before I reached him and he met me head on. He tried to punch me but I dodged and aimed a kick at his ribs. He blocked it and then punched me in the jaw. I recovers quickly, ducking under his follow up high kick and grabbing his kunai that was on the ground nearby, then I tripped him and put the kunai to his neck all in one move.

If looks could kill I would be dead by now, judging by the glares I was currently getting. I didn't know if he was angry because he lost or because he intentionally was trying to kill me. Hopefully not the later. I removed the kunai from his neck but I kept it. I may have came here out of curiosity but I wouldn't die because of it.

"Bag." He said. He sat up but he was longer glaring. "Hungry."

I went to retrieve the bag that I dropped after noticing his ambush. I sat in front of him and pulled out a full bento box this time as I asked Kaa-san to make an extra for a 'friend'. I handed it to him along with some water.

"Where did you get the kunai?" If he truly was an orphan then getting a weapon at his age would be difficult. "Did some one give it to you?"

"Laying in training grounds. Took it." He never even looked up from his meal while he was speaking to me. Maybe his orphanage didn't have enough money to provide three meals a day.

He eventually turned to look me in the eyes when he finished eating. "How you climb building yesterday?" It seemed like he was trying to intimidate and answer out of me. Which was hilarious because he was five, and it wouldn't work after I had just won our fight.

"Do you know how to use chakra?" I pulled out a few leaves I always kept incase I felt like practicing. When he nodded I continued.

"Then you can start on the first step towards learning what I did yesterday, which is trying to get a leaf to stick to your body by using the right amount of chakra." I demonstrated it to him and handed him all my leaves as I didn't need them anymore. He looked frustrated that he wouldn't be able to do what I did already but no less determined. When he got up to leave I stopped him.

"Here, take your kunai." I said putting the weapon into his hands. He nodded before climbing up the building and leaving to go wherever.

* * *

"On three we start off with our innermost leg. Then we match each others pace with our outside leg." I said standing awkwardly with my leg tied to Mei's.

"If we have to dodge something we need to have a signal so we don't move in opposite directions. Maybe we should interlace our fingers and tug when we need to signal left or right." Mei also was slightly unbalanced by our current predicament.

It had been about a month since my second encounter with my sparing partner in the alley. Since then our daily spars have helped both of us improve and in that time we had both managed to master tree walking, although we mostly used it to walk and run up and down the buildings that formed the alley.

Mei and I's rivalry only became more competitive in that time frame. Currently we were trying to complete our third obstacle course for the day. Our entire class did the level one course but Mei and I cleared it so quickly or sensei wanted us to move up to the second level. We treated it as a race with both of us starting at the same time and eventually finishing at the same time.

Our sensei then tied our legs together and told us to complete the third one together, which was how we ended up in this situation. I glanced at Mei while we awaited on our sensei's signal to begin. I was correct about what she wore the first day not being her training outfit. She now wore a dark blue shirt with black three-quarters length pants and blue ninja sandals. Her hair was still down, unlike my own.

"Begin." Sensei's voice brought me out of my thoughts and Mei and I both raced off, sticking to the plan. The course overall was challenging but not impossible. With Mei here it would seem like a disadvantage, but we surprisingly worked well together, clearing it in a decent amount of time.

"Well done," Our sensei commented after we made our way back towards the rest of the class. "That course is meant for students who have been attending the Academy for at least three years. After seeing you two complete that I have no doubt that both of you need to be moved up to a class that is at your level." Mei and I just nodded, slightly winded from all the running.

"Tatsuya," Mei said after we all returned to the classroom. I turned towards her with a slightly puzzled look as our relationship had never been defined as 'friends' but more as respectfully distant rivals. "I think that we should work together more often. You would be able to keep up with me better than our classmates."

I just nodded, not refusing someone to keep me entertained during the boring Academy curriculum. After that we talked a little. It was slightly awkward but not unpleasant. When the school day was done I made my routine trip down the alley. The sparring session was just like any other we had, intense and fast paced.

"Do I need to bring you more than one bento box?" I asked as I watched my friend devour the food I brought after our spar. He made no move to reply but I decided to start bringing more just in case.

"Who is your sensei?" The fact that someone was teaching him at least basic life skills but failing to provide him food was puzzling.

"Sensei teaches me." His short, uninformative answer did nothing to solve the conundrum.

"Does your sensei feed you?" If my orphan theory was correct then he probably didn't get fed enough if the facility was poor but if this sensei was his guardian maybe he was being neglected. Yet the way he spoke of this person made them seem as if they are a caretaker. Maybe it would be best if I tried to find out for myself.

He again made no move to answer, only finishing eating and then leaving. So I followed him stealthily, using buildings and chakra clinging to keep me hidden while being able to view his path across rooftops. Eventually I lost sight of him when he dropped down onto a narrow street. I rushed to catch up and attempted to not lose sight but when I reached the last roof he was on before he dropped down I felt something sharp pressing into my back.

"Stop following me." That gruff voice could only be one person. I turned my head and confirmed that my sparring partner had a kunai to my back.

I said nothing and just waited until he moved his weapon. He walked to my front and faced me. The look he gave me didn't convey any anger, but rather indifference. He didn't say another word before making his exit and I didn't try to follow him.

* * *

"Fairy's Kiss is usually used in general antidotes. Why is it included in your list?" The voice broke my concentration and I was pleasantly surprised to see it belonged to Mei.

We were currently in our kunoichi class. Our assignment was to write a list of flowers that could be used to poison a target through ingestion. Mostly everyone else had partnered up or formed groups while Mei had approached me to claim we should work together and I had accepted. She was correct however in stating that Fairy's Kiss was generally used in antidotes.

"You are correct. But when it is combined with Water Hemlock it can stop some of the early symptoms of poisoning, reducing the chances of the target getting treatment."

It had been six months since the start of the Academy and since then Mei and I were both moved up to one of the older students' classes. This class would graduate in four years while in our other class it would have taken seven years. It also meant Mei and I were the only five year olds while the others were eight to nine years of age. It was more challenging than my previous class so I enjoyed it.

I continued to meet my friend daily in the alley too. He had improved greatly since I had first met him, able to challenge me in the daily spars we did. Both of us had also mastered tree walking too, using our new mobility in creative ways when fighting. I still had yet to learn his name but not for lack of trying. Whenever I asked he ignored me. He was interesting. He had a 'sensei' but he was always hungry. He dropped out of the Academy but the first time we met he moved like someone who was beginning ninja training. His taijutsu had improved beyond what he could learn from just spars and he had recently started moving so silently it was hard to know he was there. Who was this 'sensei' of his anyway. On my last attempt to get answers I was nearly stabbed. However those were thoughts for another time, for now it was time to focus on completing the assignment we were given.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" At that I turned to face her completely. She had a small amount of pink on her cheeks and her eyes were glancing at the ground.

"What?" That was all I could say because I had literally no idea what she meant.

Mei glanced at me and her blush turned to a deep red before her eyes met the ground again. "Kaa-san told me it was my responsibility as the clan heiress to find a husband. She said if I didn't find one then I would have an arranged marriage. Kaa-san said that he should be strong and attractive so when I saw you at the entrance ceremony you were different from the others and as class progressed you showed that you were strong. So I did what Kaa-san said men like. I did my best in kunoichi class because it was good practice for being a wife and I trained hard because she said men like women who are good with their bodies and give them a challenge. But you still don't notice my efforts so I went against Kaa-san's advice and well, what I'm trying to say is that I am 'making the first move' as a last resort."

After being rather silent for a while, I smiled at Mei and said, "Mei you have plenty of time before you have to be married. But I think you should have a long talk with your Kaa-san after class today. I think you misunderstood what she was trying to say." She looked mostly surprised and confused but she nodded and joined me in our assignment for today. I'm just glad she wasn't angry. Romance was the last thing on my mind at the moment and we were _six._ However I could mark her off my mental list of important people in Kiri to befriend. Now if only there were an easy way to overthrow a government.

* * *

On my eight birthday Tou-san gave me a pair of ninjato as a gift. They were rather short to accommodate for my size, being only fifteen inches long. I chose to strap the sheathes to my back. I spent most of the morning training with him. He began showing me how to correctly dual wield them.

When I went to the alley where I usually met my friend, he wasn't there. I waited an hour before giving up and leaving the usual two bento boxes on the roof his usually appeared and disappeared from. The process repeated itself for two more days before he showed himself. It was raining when he appeared. His face showed a mixture of anger and sadness and he was standing on the roof of a building with a sword much too large for himself strapped to his back. The type of sword resembled a zanbato, something much too large for anyone his size to be carrying. From what I could tell the blade without the hilt was three times the length on my ninjato.

He reached behind him and grabbed the handle with both hands. The clasps that kept the sword strapped to his back became undone, probably chakra manipulated. He then lifted the sword with a grunt. His chakra had to be helping him wield that thing. He glared at me with a look that promised death in the near future and not necessarily my death either.

He launched himself down into the alley while holding his sword out in front of him. Aiming to cleave me in half. I dodged to the left and barely missed losing my head. When he landed his sword lodged itself into the ground and a large cloud of dust formed acting as a smokescreen that I took advantage of. I used my speed to get behind him and in range slashing both of my swords towards his back. He rolled forwards and pulled the zanbato out of the ground at the same time.

I used the terrain to my advantage by running on the walls to try to attack from odd angles but he used the swords size to block my strikes. Eventually he used one-handed seals to create water clones, which was odd because Tou-san told me they were generally used by hunter-nin and The Seven Swordsmen when I asked. Three copies of him pursued me, each with a large sword. They forced my to find better ground on the rooftop where the real one had already retreated to ambush me. Now that he wasn't limited by the narrow alley I only managed to partially dodge the attack and I got a rather deep gash on thigh, but I fought through the pain.

When his clones made it to the rooftop all three and the real one surrounded me. I quickly sheathed my swords began making hand signs. The window of time was small, but I only needed to make three of them for my technique. My hands brightened from the lightning nature chakra currently in them. I thrust my palms on the ground flat, directing the lightning to spread away from my hands and getting rid the clones and paralyzing the real one.

I rushed to him and stabbed my swords through each of his shoulders after unsheathing them again. He was able to move again soon after that and sent a powerful kick to my head, sending me onto the roof of a completely different building.

The only thing I remember after that is us meeting in mid air over the alley. Our swords clashing, each of us trying to overpower the other but he no longer looked angry.

* * *

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

The white wall's and the sound of the electrocardiogram confirmed to me that I was indeed in the hospital. My stiff body and various bandages further confirmed that I was badly injured. I looked to my left after hearing a grunt only to find the cause for my injuries looking back at me and in the same state.

"Sensei died," He said after being silent for a long time. "Left me his sword."

"Is your sensei a relative?" I asked hoping to finally get answers from the stoic boy.

"Sensei is uncle and jonin. He goes on missions and leaves me food. But sometimes missions last extra long and I then I steal, but you bring me meals so I'm not hungry." His situation made a lot more sense now that he explained. His uncle would be teaching him things while he was home and while he was away he used my bento boxes as meals for the day. I think there might be some kind of child abuse law against this type of thing but this was Kiri, no one would care if a child starved.

"Do you need somewhere to live?" Even if his home became his after his uncle's death, an eight year old living on their own was bound for disaster.

He never got to answer as the door slid open. "Mild concussion, blood loss, multiple lacerations, chakra exhaustion, and a fractured ulna." Kaa-san's gaze of pure anger and the slight amount of killing intent managed to scare me. Long story short, nothing was worse than Kaa-san's wrath.

After a lecture on the correct way to train and an explanation of who my friend was, Kaa-san explained that we would be in the hospital for a couple of days and after that we couldn't train for two weeks. I think she knew that we both weren't going to listen. Also after hearing my friend's situation she insisted that he stay with us until he could live on his own, even if his house did belong to him after his uncle's death.

"Zabuza," My head snapped towards my bedridden friend as he hadn't spoken since Kaa-san had been in here. "My name is Zabuza."

I should have been surprised or maybe even scared as the exams weren't that far off but I found myself oddly smiling. "Do you want to break out of this place now?" Oddly enough he was also smiling.

* * *

Checking to make sure I had all my equipment was redundant as I had already done it a million times. I took one more look in the mirror. My clothes were the same as they had always been but my hair now reached past my shoulder blades. My swords were in their sheathes that each crossed diagonally across my back. Overall I was ready but that didn't stop my slight nervousness.

A year had passed since my fight with Zabuza. Since then he spent a lot of time training with me and occasionally Tou-san or Kaa-san when they were available, since both of them were active duty ninja now. They had a small system where at least one of them where home most of the times. Zabuza's house was kept clean by occasional visits from myself, Zabuza, and whichever parent was home at the moment. The academy was also more _lively_ with Zabuza around. The older students in our class thought him intimidating which I found hilarious. Our sensei found him frustrating because he completely refused to do any work that didn't involve fighting. Mei had one conversation with him and threatened to kill him after he used the phrase 'another one of Tatsuya's annoying fangirls'. She almost accomplished it too after a short spar which ended in Zabuza's clothes almost completely burned off and her unharmed. After that Zabuza didn't let his guard down during their spars and stopped the insults.

Today however was the graduation exam and that meant a potential massacre. I was very sure that Zabuza wouldn't kill everyone but I'm sure he would be the cause of more than one casualty before he went on to challenge Mei and I. I'm not sure what Mei's reaction will be, because she wasn't naive enough to believe that this line of work wouldn't require killing but she also wouldn't like the idea of killing classmates to graduate. I exited my room and headed downstairs to find my breakfast at the table. Zabuza and both my parents where already eating. I sat down and ate in silence. I finished quickly and Zabuza and I both said goodbye before leaving and heading for the academy.

All the graduating classes were instructed to meet in Room 44 which should have been warning to anyone intelligent enough to look at the clues. When we entered the room there was already a large number of students in the equally as large room that was designed much like an arena, with one large and high balcony that circled the entire room. It reminded me of the room where I met Mei on my first day of the academy. I attempted to look around the room for Mei but either she wasn't here yet or she was hidden among the large crowd. Zabuza was no help and moved to the far left wall of he room, away from the large crowd in the center. I chose to stay stay close enough to the door to greet Mei Incase she actually was not here yet.

Our sensei's choose that moment to begin the exam. A man appeared on the balcony from one of the few connecting rooms. "Congratulations to all of you for making it this far in your shinobi career. I will be your proctor for this exam. The only rule for this exam is that you have to kill a classmate to pass. Begin." When he was done speaking all the doors that led out of the room closed at once and were probably locked as well. No one moved for a while, not even Zabuza. As time stretched on I finally spotted Mei across the room. I also saw the older boy behind her draw his sword and slash directly for her neck. It was a good plan, find the weakest enemy which he assumed would be a nine year old girl and use them to ensure your graduation. He was not part of our class so his planned failed miserably. Mei quickly ducked, forcing his attack to miss. Then she quickly formed hand seals and released a thick pocket of mist directly at his face at point blank range. The effect was instantaneous, the jutsu caused his entire face to melt off.

At that moment the chaos began. Someone used the Hidden Mist Jutsu and students immediately either began attacking or running. I retreated to the balcony by running up the wall and threw a kunai at a student below, accomplishing the task. Zabuza was going wild, mowing down others with wide sweeps of his sword. Mei had a large area to herself as the others chose to stay away from her.

I watched the massacre from above as the time stretched on. A few others had tried to make it to the balcony for safety or to make an attempt on my life but they all skirmishes along the way, whether on the stairs or the wall itself. Things quieted down as the fighting stopped, leaving almost a third of the original numbers. I glanced at Mei who was sitting omg the ground with her back against the wall. I could tell she was angry at having to graduate this way. Zabuza was covered in blood and yet none of it was his. He showed no signs of anger or remorse and I didn't expect him too. Even knowing that this would happen made it no less easier for me to except. Now matter how tough I think myself to be, looking at the the strewn arms and legs and the dead, lifeless eyes of these _children_ made me sick and slightly queasy.

"That concludes this exam. You all pass," The proctor had returned through one of the doors that lead out into the balcony. I can only imagine where the other sensei where watching from. "Except for Mizushima, Momochi, and Terumi. You three will fight each other or fail, everyone else may leave." With that said the proctor left once again. The others attempted to leave only to be met by Zabuza. He sliced through them so quickly they barely had time to register their bodies were cleaved in half. And there was Mei, running towards Zabuza with with a look of pure rage. I didn't know why we were selected to fight longer but from my two opponents actions's they were going to kill each other regardless. As I jumped down into the sea of dead bodies below all I could think about was the fact that all three of us would end up dead today.

* * *

I opened my eyes only to be met by severe pain all over. I could barely move but I was able to see that I was in a bed, probably a hospital bed. Directly ahead of me was a man sitting in a chair, I spotted his hitai-ate on his head and the extra three in his hand. His black hair was unruly and his jaw had a significant amount of stubble, as if he hadn't shaved for a couple of days. For a long while we both said nothing, him smoking a cigarette and me suffering in silence.

"Your battle was impressive." He spoke, breaking the silence. He took put out his cigarette before standing and walking over and laying the forehead protector on my bed. "Welcome to Team 13 kid."

* * *

 **Wow that was a long chapter. I don't expect all of them to be as long, probably closer to five thousand words. But this is my first story and I know there was a lot of time skips but I promise the next chapter will be more concise and things will slow a little for some real interaction between Tatsuya and his team. Plus world building and actually dialogue! Leave a review and let me know how I can improve my writing.**


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